Maruti to invest Rs 2K cr to drive up output

NEW DELHI: The six-month wait for a new Swift diesel or DZire sedan and export backlog for A-Star could disappear soon as Maruti Suzuki India is increasing production at its three-lakh-unit Manesar plant by another lakh units this fiscal year.

���We are looking at crossing the million mark of combined production capacity at our twin Gurgaon-Manesar plants this fiscal year. We will increase the daily strike rate of production for Manesar to cater to the higher demand for new models from Indian and overseas markets,��� a senior executive at Maruti Suzuki said.

The company is planning a capital expenditure outlay of Rs 2,100 crore for 2009-10 on re-tooling the plant for production efficiencies, developing new models, R&D activities and expanding production of its K-Series engine.

���We are looking at all possibilities to produce more cars to meet higher demand. We are increasing the production timing and altering the production schedule to roll out more cars. The production for DZire sedan has now gone up to 7,000 cars from 3,000 while we are producing 10,000 Swifts against 6,000-7,000 units last year,��� said Mayank Pareek, executive officer for sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki.

Maruti Suzuki sold its highest number of 2.26 lakh cars in the first quarter of FY10, marking an increase of 18% over the same period of the previous fiscal year. The company aims to clock a 15% growth in volumes in the current fiscal year to take the annual production to over nine lakh cars.

The company���s exports rose 135% to 29,314 cars in the first quarter of FY10. ���Exports are pushing volumes in a big way. Our export model A-Star is generating huge numbers in Europe from government incentives to trade older vehicles for new fuel-efficient cars with low emissions,��� Mr Pareek added.

The company will launch a new multi-utility vehicle based on the Versa platform in the third quarter of the fiscal year. It will also refresh its product portfolio comprising Maruti 800, Alto and WagonR to keep the sales momentum going in the current fiscal year.